Yeah, I try to rotate my characters but I still end up with a big experience gap between the player and the party (which is okay). I also still end up with a gap among the party simply because some characters aren't as effective as others in a given situation. Like, I enjoyed Apolishimo and tried to use him but he'd always fall behind by the end of the game because he doesn't work well for full-on offensive parties or fights against all of the creatures that resist his skills. I'd like some kind of mechanism to keep them from falling too far behind without having to significantly cripple my fighting power just to grind up their exp.

These days I lean more to just using the characters I like most. Like kadakithis, I enjoy building my party around what would match the story, even if it might be sub-optimal tactically.

I naturally like to rotate and play around with different parties when I can for variety. However, I hate wasting time grinding levels for characters that fall behind. It's even worse in games where enemies are finite, like in Planet Stronghold, and you are forced to use certain characters in personal quests. Battles were also limited in SOTW, and some situations forced certain characters on the sidelines, but the option to auto-level after certain points alleviates some of the pain. I prefer that XP/levels being shared by the entire party rather than individuals. It saves the time spent from grinding, when I can switch characters on a whim.